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Large Scale SCADA Migration using Ignition coupled with the Perspective Module
ECS Solutions, Inc., recently completed a large-scale SCADA migration for a fortune 500 food manufacturing client. This upgrade was noteworthy based on the size of the facility-wide project and the fact that it was executed using Inductive Automation’s Ignition platform coupled with the Perspective visualization module as the basis of design. This client has embarked on an enterprise-wide modernization effort which will enable them to maintain and monitor their dozens of facilities. In many ways, this made possible by rapid advancements in plant floor hardware and computing software, commonly referred to as Industry 4.0.
This client is not unique in their ambitions: manufacturers everywhere have been trying to extract value from these advancements, accepting and even specifying hardware in their plants which leverage new communication and connection capabilities. The software surrounding these systems have typically lagged as the factory floor has been a place for robust applications with excellent continuity of functions for workers. It has taken the functionality offered by Inductive Automation via the Perspective module, built from the ground up on web technologies, to finally realize much of what has been envisioned. Use cases are becoming more prevalent and most industrial software suppliers tout web-based technologies as the future of the industry. However, real projects leveraging the Perspective module have typically targeted smaller scale or purpose-based applications, the type that focus on a specific piece of functionality that is already well suited to this technology. Common applications of the Perspective module still tend to be read-only production dashboards or analysis tools. Perspective applications built to provide SCADA functionality (specifically direct equipment control) are growing in number, but still a smaller minority.
“Our client approached us with a fairly ambitious plan for this migration based on our deep experience with Ignition products,” says ECS Engineering Director Jordan Stoltz. “The technology and upgrade plan weren’t unique, by themselves, but the ambitious scale of the application made it particularly challenging,” he continues. The client’s request included integration of tens of thousands of tags across twenty-two core, satellite, OEM, and utility controllers spanning an entire midwestern manufacturing facility.
The client also intends to leverage the Ignition infrastructure for future cross-discipline data integrations. Thus, the system design and implementation needed to accommodate future adaptations easily.
ECS leveraged their experience in not only Ignition but also their history developing web solutions for this project. This included not only their capabilities of developing for responsive and performant interfaces but also deeper considerations such as avoiding duplicate OPC tag connections and how to consistently configure tag History and Alarm connections. At this scale, critical planning was necessary to ensure overall network and facility data throughput would support the revised solution.
The ECS team utilized multiple developers to create the revised screens, which leveraged configurable styles within Perspective. The visual result was hundreds of full-size screens and popups, all of which consistently applied the appropriate style to mimic the feel and function of the original application. The team created and utilized custom built tools to dynamically create the tens of thousands of required Ignition OPC tags necessary for the screen development, complete with tag type and alarm information. Innovations like these allowed a team of developers to maximize development efficiency while ensuring a consistent output. These tools also insulated the developers from the need to individually configure controller tags or manually create large quantities of tags by hand. Consistency was the goal, one the team achieved.
Because the system being replaced provided the control and monitoring functionality to the entire factory, it was effectively impossible to shut down the facility for a migration to the Ignition solution. A methodical plan was developed to allow the client’s legacy system (Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk View SE and FactoryTalk Linx) to run in parallel with the revised Ignition Perspective application (with Kepware as the OPC server). The parallel approach allowed the Perspective application to be placed side by side with the legacy FactoryTalk View SE application in a variety of locations (pedestal mounted terminals, desktop terminals in a laboratory, and panel-mounted terminals).
The ECS team initially enabled the Ignition Gateway’s tag provider as “Read Only”, allowing for direct side-by-side comparison and confirmation that the updated application was functionally identical to the legacy application. This allowed ECS to garner support from the operators and safely verify a large percentage of the functionality without risking any errant or unexpected impacts to the production system. Once users were comfortable with fit and feel and the read-only data was fully validated, the balance of the control was activated, thus enabling full system control (“Read/Write Mode”) in the new Perspective project. The final startup element included a detailed tuning phase which ensured proper responsiveness and timing without overloading the legacy controllers nor the associated networks. This allowed for the full HMI migration to be completed with zero production downtime during what the customer considered their busiest time of year.
“This client has dozens of plants, many of which are similar to this site in scale,” says Stoltz. “They intend to pursue similar migrations towards Ignition’s Perspective module in the near future, leveraging the latest features and security for their high-liability industry. They intend to pursue an industry leading enterprise level connectivity across their sites, which begins with standardizing on a best-in-class platform and solution philosophy. The Ignition platform will provide them with the means to accomplish all of this and more. This client may be ahead of the curve by applying the Perspective module to application of this size and being on the bleeding edge of progress may bring with it some integration challenges in the short term, but the long-term payoff for them will be enormous,” Stoltz concludes.
Industry’s migration towards web-based packages such as Ignition’s Perspective module will continue, and usage will drive more development within the software packages themselves. Utilizing robust infrastructure like Ignition coupled with Perspective will allow adopters to facilitate all the features, connectivity, and security functions which have long been promised. Utilizing a seasoned systems integrator like ECS Solutions will ensure success when creating and deploying these solutions at a large scale. When it comes to using all the tools in the toolbox and pushing the limits of application size, using a systems integrator with the experience to get it right is the best possible way to reduce risk for the client and maximize the return on investment.
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